Corridor (コリドール) is a fantasy themed computer game with limited commands. Mainly played as a text adventure, visual mazes and images may appear throughout the game. This is the second title made by a developer calling himself "Rocky Hayase" — the first being Dragon & Princess.
Plot[]
Once upon a time, there was a faraway kingdom called Thouras. It had a king who had three sons, who were princes of the realm. The three princes loved their father and were faithful to him. The king could not choose one son over the other, so he was troubled when he was asked to pass on the throne to one of them. He thought about it for several days before he gave them a challenge. Each prince should begin a three year journey. Whoever finishes his quest with the most heroism will win the crown.
Siegfried, the player's character, is the youngest of these three princes. He recalls a tale his nanny told him about a mysterious castle and heads for it.
Gameplay[]
While the player's character is named Siegfried in the manual, he can be named anything the player desires before beginning the game. He is a mute protagonist, his actions and personality are entirely reliant on the player's choices. His face is not shown during the pictured cutaways since it is always concealed by his big green hat.
Graphical cutaways are limited to special areas or characters, each image taking time to "draw" onto the screen. Otherwise, the player is likely going to see Japanese text written on a black screen. Words are primarily written in katakana with a few sparse English words and phrases. Passages of white text describe the setting or character interactions. Yellow text lists the actions the player can choose for their situation. These commands can be performed by typing their respective highlighted number (1, 2, etc.). By this method, the protagonist can move to different areas, talk to characters, or confront mystical opponents like Medusa, a titan, or a troll.
Combat is limited to pressing any key on the keyboard to hit whatever opponent the prince is facing. Words are used to describe the health of each opponent, Good being the best and Dead being the worst. Keeping the prince healthy is important to proceed through the story; his stats and item supply can be checked by typing the I key. Medicine (H) can be used to restore lost health. Alternatively, the prince can eat food (E) to revive his spirits and stay strong. However, if he is in an area with no food supply, he actually faces the danger of dying of starvation. Therefore, food should be used sparingly when and if the medicine runs out. The player can automatically obtain restorative items as they explore.
As the player picks their choices, a hidden scoring system calculates the amount of "hero points" their actions reward them. If the player desires to see the best ending in the game, they will need to choose the options that benefit the common folk, demonstrate kindness, or involve proceeding through dangerous dungeons to vanquish an evil beast. The amount of points the player has achieved determines which ending they will see, should they finish the entire journey.
External Links[]
- Detailed guide with pictures (Japanese)